Newsletter October 2005 Newsletter: newsletter OCT. 2005 IN THIS ISSUE YOUR NEWSLETTER 2 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE 3 SPEAKER REVIEW 3 MARY BARRER PROFILE 4 BOOKMARK SEMINAR 4 GO NON-PROFIT 5 THE CROW'S NEST 6 SHORT STORY JUDGING 7 HOLLYWOODSCRIPT.COM 7 NEWS RELEASE INSERT "BOOKMARK seminar" ALL DAY October 1, 2005 (Saturday) Palm Desert Library 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM FOUR OUTSTANDING SPEAKERS are brought together to make this an all-day must-do for Guild members. Everything you've always wanted to know about: MARKETING - PUBLISHING - BOOKSTORES - WRITING PROGRAMS Free to members. Can join at the door. ($5 for guests) SPEAKERS CHRIS HUNTLEY Vice president and Academy Technical Achievement Award winning co-creator/developer of Write Brothers, Inc. and the Movie Magic series of software products including Movie Magic Screenwriter. Huntley also co-developed the Dramatica theory of story over a 14 year period, ultimately creating Dramatica Pro, the software that helps creative writers employ the Dramatica story theory most effectively. His mastery and wisdom of all things relating to story have made him a widely recognized leader in the world of story development. http://www.screenplay.com DAVE SPEAKMAN Founder of B & L Lithograph - printing and publishing - in Huntington Beach, has 20 plus years associated with the printing and publishing industry. Since B & L Lithograph began in 1991, Dave has published numerous titles for authors from all over the world, covering a broad spectrum of topics. While Dave has helped with the publishing of several hundred titles, and has authored many articles on the subject for local and national magazines, he has admittedly yet to write his own book. Dave reminds us writers that, "While the publishing of a book does require printing, there are numerous details that also must be addressed." WWW.Davebllithograph.com MARIE (MAZZARELLA) ROBERTSON Director of The Institute For Phobic Awareness and owner of Romar Enterprises which originally offered various business services. She presently produces writing projects that include speeches, program planning and the production of selected books. Of current interest is her work on "Flying Joyfully" – The Polly Usher Story which was featured on CBS 2, in The Desert Woman and in various Flying magazines and a website. With The Institute she has assisted with the publication and distribution of their books and the production "OPEN SPACES," a film showing the debilitation caused by various anxiety disorders. The film's grand opening was held locally at the Camelot Theater. CHRIS JOHNSON Peppertree Book Store. Chris was instrumental in introducing to Palm Springs the first annual Book Fair. He has opened a new book store that includes a section directed at writers and the self-publishing of their works. GUILD MEETING Sunday: Oct. 2, 2005 Mizell Senior Center 2:00 PM - PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD Meetings are open to all writers. The Guild aims to nurture and promote the craft of writing. Meetings are free for first time visitors. We meet on the first Sunday of each month. For more information regarding The Palm Springs Writers Guild, please contact a Board Member - see back cover. BOARD MEETING Open to all members. We meet the first Wednesday of each month: 10 AM. Ask a Board member. – YOUR GUILD NEWSLETTER – THE PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD NEWSLETTER is a nonprofit publication of the Guild and for the Guild. Written contributions to the Newsletter are welcomed, but subject to editing and possible delay in publication. Topics should be of interest to writers and content related to the Arts. Word count up to 600. Art and (or) photographs are accepted. Newsletter Submission Deadline: 2nd day of the month. Newsletter mail out on the 15th day of the month. Edited and produced by Palm Springs Writers Guild Board CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bill Clark - President's Message Joanne Hardy - Speaker Review Mary Barrer - Member Profiles Dodie Cross - The Crows Nest Open - Fun with PR!! Bill Clark - Writer Thoughts Kurt Sipolski - Around Town Open - Celebrity Interviews Fran Kaplan - Critique Group Chatter Fill an "Open" with your name - make a column your byline. We'd love to have you join the Guild Newsletter writing team. Growth of The Palm Springs Writers Guild is inevitable. It is young of spirit and many exciting ideas are sprouting. So, also, grows the Guild Newsletter. ... Have you an idea for a column? Join and grow with the Guild Writing Team today! The Palm Springs Writers Guild E-mail: PSnewsletter@aol.com P.O. Box 947, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 Bill Clark, President PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Bill Clark Welcome to a new season with many exciting events on the calendar. To begin we'll have an opportunity to learn the inside makings of a publication -- a look at building manuscripts with contempory writing programs, publishing your works, marketing yourself and product and what happens at bookstores. The electronic age has moved swiftly through the publishing world. Mavis and I often reminisce about the time we owned a small printing business. Book publishing was a major undertaking that involved craftsmen with union affiliate specialties, such as Graphic Artist, Editor, Lithographer, Typesetter, Color Separator, Book Binder and others. It was a complicated undertaking. Now, all these talented craftsmen live inside your computer. Writers today are closet book publishers waiting to come out. And they can! Everything a writer needs to publish a book from start to finish is at a writer's finger tips. Amazing, but true! And this includes all forms of book binding. So now that your book has become a published entity, what's next? You are at the starting line of a fiercely competative book market race track. Which brings up the March '06 Seminar subject, "How to Promote Yourself, and Your Book." We will look at putting a writer's book promotional job into prospective. Another item of importance on the agenda for this year is to register the Guild officially. Board Member Carol Mann is looking into the task. It is also desirable to drop "Original" and be known again as "Palm Springs Writers Guild." We have an energetic and knowledgable Board. I'm looking forward to this enlightening and fun year. SPEAKER REVIEW Joanne Hardy An ice cream social on a summer afternoon. Hardly seemed like an organizational meeting. But indeed it was -- the last meeting of the Original Palm Springs Writers Guild for the season. After the ice cream had been served (heroically delivered by Bob Hurlbert), members settled down for story time. Phyllis Costello read the poignant, "Tracy's Dress," followed by John Harrell's fiction based on fact, "Losing Face." Fran Kaplan with "Remembrances of Things Pasta," Harold Kaplan's "Show Biz," Melody Fleming's "He was an Animal," kept members laughing. Dodie Cross made us realize we have not been giving nearly enough respect to American plumbing when she read, "The Year I lived in Thailand." Bob Hurlbert read, "Small Peanuts" and everyone listened up sharply to be sure they got every word right. Carol Manne's "Behind the Blue Bonnet" and Olivia Lab's "The Visitor" gave us drama. Kathryn Jordan's, "Hot Water" reminded us that everyone has fantasies, but some are a lot better than others. The final surprise was when Carrie Hudson wrote a poem for that afternoon, called, "June." As members listened, something began to emerge. We've got a lot of talent right here among our own. Afterwards, John Harrell took us through the year of his presidency with recognition and kudos to all those who participated in the many events that made up his tenure. Cyndi Muscatel, in turn, presented John with a gift of appreciation from the Guild for a job well done. Bill Clark, the incoming president, not only gave us a glimpse into the background of himself and each of the board members who will collectively direct the affairs of the Guild, but some of his plans for the coming year. The meeting was adjourned for the season, but member lingered, talking to each other, over the second (or third) bowl of ice cream. TWO BIG EVENTS NOT TO MISS OCTOBER 1st and 2nd (Saturday and Sunday) A Mary Barrer Profile: JOANNE HARDY... Member Extraordinary The look on the face of Joanne Hardy when her name was announced as the winner of the Buddy Award was total amazement. That was a reflection of her beautiful personality, modesty and dedication. Joanne's affiliation with the Guild goes back many years. She has been an Executive Board member with eight different presidents. She is a willing volunteer, a competent recorder of events and a creative writer. Growing up in a small town in southern Illinois during a wild cat oil boom, she was deeply impressed with the changes to easy going, gentle people when they became rich from oil profits. Joanne never forgot those days and this became the theme of the first novel she has labored over for the last few years. It is polished and ready to make the rounds. A second novel is in the works again based on her experiences in this unique region. In the meantime, her weekly column, SHOW AND TELL, appears every Sunday in the Desert Sun. She enjoys meeting Desert residents with colorful collections and memorable memorabilia. Writing success came in later life. After an early war time marriage (Korea) she traveled the country with her soldier husband Harold. In the early fifties with their two sons they found their home in the Desert. Harold served as an executive in the airline industry in Palm Springs. Joanne returned to college to obtain her teachers accreditation and ultimately worked in an elementary school in Coachella. Her students included children of migrant workers and Native Americans from the Torres-Martinez Reservation. Joanne leads a fast-paced professional life as a columnist and free lance writer; she serves as Hospitality Chair of The National League of American Penwomen and is a member of the Scholarship Committee of the Daughters of theAmerican Revolution. Ask her to do a job, she'll smile sweetly and agree and you can count on having it finished before deadline and in the most efficient manner. OCTOBER 2ND, members will have an opportunity to vote for or against our Writers Guild becoming a registered non-profit organization. Your support is necessary to make it happen. THE GUILD, A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION? Carol Mann The Original Palm Springs Writers Guild began almost 30 years ago, ample proof of the dedication, participation, and commitment of professional and amateur writers to the organization and its ideals. To continue growing with the burgeoning Coachella Valley, the Board is proposing a change from being an unincorporated association to becoming recognized by the state as a Non-Profit Corporation. The Guild would benefit in a number of ways: 1. LEADERSHIP SHARES POWER We have by-laws which have been updated and refined over the years through the hard work and dedication of previous boards. New Non-Profit Corporation By-laws while maintaining established provisions would include sections necessary to a California Corporation; for example, Officer Removal, Fiscal Year, Corporate Seal, Indemnity, Certificate of Chairman of the Board (President.) Official by-laws prevent a president from simply taking control. They assure leadership is provided by a Board elected by the membership. The Board's powers are delineated and limited according to the by-laws which are designed to be as inclusive as possible; to bring in new people, train replacements, and allow members from all areas and functions of the group to participate. There are regularly scheduled Board meetings and regularly scheduled general meetings. Issues are put to a vote. 2. BANK ACCOUNTS At present the Guild account is maintained through individual officers' personal information on file at the bank. As a non-profit, the Guild acquires a taxpayer ID# and the bank account is maintained in the name of the Guild. Accounts are easily transferable when officers change. Eligible signers are updated 3. TAX BENEFITS As an unincorporated association, donations from the members and community to the Guild are not tax deductible. No employees can be hired. As a non-profit, Board members can write off certain expenses such as mileage on their tax returns as donations. The Guild could also hire employees to perform certain tasks if no volunteers stepped forward. 4. GRANTS, LARGER DONATIONS Although the Guild can accept donations, there is no incentive to give cash or large ticket items since donations are not tax deductible. Under incorporation, the Guild can apply for grants, accept large cash donations and seek other sources of funding. 5. VOLUNTEER PROTECTION The Officers of the Guild may be held personally liable for any lawsuits against the group. Incorporated, the Guild can purchase liability insurance that serves to protect its officers and the Guild account in case of a lawsuit. 6. ABILITY TO GROW At approximately $5000.00 gross yearly income for unincorporated associations, the IRS becomes interested. If the Guild reaches that amount through membership dues and income from contests and fund raisers, we might be forced to incorporate, ready or not. Or we might have to cap the number of members in order not to exceed the amount. Under incorporation, no ceiling exists for income or expenses. To incorporate, start-up paperwork is involved, as well as start-up expense for various fees. For example, $200.00 is needed to begin the process. Yearly reports must be filed with the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board. Lastly, when we make application, we must submit three choices for our desired non-profit name which are checked for availability. DESIRED NONPROFIT NAME: First Choice: Palm Springs Writers Guild Second Choice: The Palm Springs Writers Guild Third Choice: The Writers Guild of Palm Springs In the ever-exciting world of writing and publishing we authors inhabit, the time could not be more opportune than now for The Guild to take its next step to keep pace, to offer more to its members and community, to add to its credibility. The Crows Nest Dodie Cross Being in a critique group is one way to up the ante for submitting your work. If they work as they should, critique groups help find the weak parts of your story, give you ideas for changes and encourage you to submit. Webster's definition of submit is to "give over, or yield to the power of another" In essence, that's what we are doing, isn't it? We are really giving our work to the power of another, thereby unveiling all our warts and facing possible rejection. That's why it's so difficult for us to submit. I've taken a survey of a few writers, even some published writers, who seem to have that same trepidation, however, the difference between the former and the latter is: they do it! Most of us feel we'll just work on it a little more, change a thing or two, tweak this or that paragraph. Because to not submit is to not be rejected. We can dream on in our wildest fantasy that as soon as this one hits the editor's desk it'll be a quick trip to publication, yet our hateful little interior critic finds ways to stall us, to hold back on the final editing, to think about one more change. In reality, what we're really doing is not letting someone have the power over us. Being in a critique group is one way to up the ante for submitting your work. If they work as they should, critique groups help find the weak parts of your story, give you ideas for changes and encourage you to submit. The members feed off of each other's successes: "She got published? Wow! Maybe I should send in something." In my critique group, one of our members is constantly getting published. She's an excellent writer, of course, but the other reason is--SHE SUBMITS! She runs her stories by us, has enough faith in herself to know when they're ready, and puts them in the mail. That person is Marci Stillerman, who not only submits, but pushes us to do the same. She is the paragon of what we must do to be published. She enthuseastically reacts to our stories with kind, but helpful critiques, urging all of us to submit. The following is a list of those brave souls who yielded to the power of another--and were published: McGraw Hill has published Marci Stillerman's The Flame of a Candle, also published in Highlights in an anthology of children's stories. Harcourt Educational Measurement also bought The Flame and the Candle for workbook material. Carus Publishing is including Why The Bat Comes Out Only At Night, as representative of excellence and distinctive work published in Cricket Magazine Group in anthology. I'd say that we have one incredible writer in our midst. Berkeley Books, a division of Penguin, signed our member Kathryn Jordan to a book contract for her novel Hot Water, which will hit the bookstores in January of 2006. This is Kathryn's first published novel. She is also working on a previous novel for her editor at Berkeley. Among her other credits are articles in Palm Springs Life and Westways--to name a few. You can learn more about Kathryn and her publications at her website, www.kathrynjordan.com CONTESTS: Many of our members start out by entering writing contests, thereby building up their fragile egos a bit before submitting for publication. It's my turn to crow here a bit. My entry Closure won first place in ByLine Magazine. That gave me the energy to submit to a consumer magazine; still waiting! In our critique group, at the urging of Marci, we have several writers who have entered contests and won first, second, third or honorable mention. Our BJ Weigand has won numerous "honorable mentions," and says of herself: "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." But, she's still submitting and we all know it won't be long before she'll be "...the bride." Got something to Crow about? E-mail me at PSnewsletter@aol.com or dodiecross@aol.com Inspire Others ON THE MEND Barbara Seranella Has undergone two liver transplants over the summer. First one did not take and we nearly lost her. Today she is on the mend and says, "Boy, do I have something to write about!" Cynthia Slatter She pleasently surprised her Critique Group with an appearance at their last meeting. Way to go gal! Broken bones and strokes can't keep her down for long. Keep fellow members informed about fellow members. SHORT STORY JUDGING Nearly Finished Jim Duggins Dear fellow OPSWG'ers: After about 18 months as a member of OPSWG, in an unguarded moment at Staples, I agreed to coordinate this year's short story contest. This year, as you may recall, we attempted to open the contest to two more categories, i.e, High School and Community College Students. Our reason for reaching out to these new communities was to perhaps attract memberships to OPSWG that would make our group more diverse. While the effort has not been very effective this year, such things take time. Future years may see us recruit more stories from these new constituencies. This year, finally, 63 stories were received. A group of twelve of your colleagues read and evaluated the stories alongside five criteria: 1. Narrative Voice; 2. Character Development; 3. Opening Paragraphs; 4. Point of View; and, 5. Plot and Structure. Each criteria was judged from 1-5 with 5 being best score. Thus, a possibility of 25 points could have been earned for a perfect story. The stories were numbered when received and each story was thus judged anonymously. Each story was read and ranked by not less than three independent judges. When there was great disparity in the scoring, for example a story received a "25 " from one judge and "2" from another judge, the story was assigned to still another reader for additional assessment. As of my mailing today, all stories will have been read at least three times by three of the twelve judges. In about two weeks, I'd guess that all judges' ranking sheets will have been returned and all that will remain to complete the contest is the rereading to break ties. Statistically our results look very clean. At this moment, I expect about 15 stories will have earned at least two scores in the upper end (that is, two rankings of 20 or better) which is about 25% of the total. The final round of reading and ranking will choose the winners among the three categories. At this point I'd like to honor each and every one of you who entered stories. It's scary to prepare a manuscript doing your very best in substance and format and to submit that personal work for scrutiny by three strangers. I want also to thank every one of the twelve judges who invested many hours in reading manuscripts, thinking about them, thinking about the criteria and how competently they were handled. It's courageous, too, to make a judgment about a person you may meet next week in a new critique group. Half of the judges had also submitted their own work for this process. In a sense, we can't help but take pride in our own audacity in doing such a thing. Thank you for that. Winners To Be Announced October 2nd (Sunday) meeting at Mizell Senior Center Hollywoodscript.Com Craig Kellem, Judy Kellem http://www.hollywoodscript.com THE TASK OF A WRITER is to communicate effectively. One cannot follow one's work around the globe, tapping every reader on the shoulder to explain what "was really meant." In screenwriting the challenge is all the more daunting. Screenplays are best when the reader forgets that they are even reading and truly believe they are having a VISUAL EXPERIENCE. Just as a trained musician can "read" a piece of music and HEAR it as if strings are actually being plucked before them, the screenwriter relies on their words to make someone WATCH a film reel projected in their mind. Though a musician can include a CD with their note filled pages, screenwriting is different. In screenplay writing, THE WORD MUST STAND ALONE. Unlike novelists, when screenwriters include pictures, photos, manuals, diagrams and the like to accompany their scripts, I always try to gently remind them that not only is it a sure sign of being a rookie, but that the whole point of showing off one's ability as a screenwriter is to demonstrate how one can evoke imagery via language. No crutches necessary. No explanations enclosed. The script speaks for itself. Your WRITING creates "filmic" images, gives us "cinematic" fantasies. It paints the pictures, takes the photos, plays the music, shoots the lens in specific directions. You prove your ability to handle the craft by letting dialogue and description transport your reader into being an AUDIENCE who is wowed by whatthey SEE. Pages of your script convey a reality. Original Palm Springs Writers Guild "Where writers advance" P.O. Box 947, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 CRITIQUE GROUP LIAISON PERSON: Fran Kaplan Information 760-324-1644 e-mail: Kappie1177@earthlink.net WEBSITE Palmspringswritersguild.org Officers - click here NEWSLETTER by Board Member and Committee Members PUBLISH * READINGS * WRITING CRITIQUES * MEETINGS * NEWSLETTER * CONTESTS * SPECIAL ACTIVITIES ^ posted by Webmaster @ 9/27/2005 04:00:00 PM Pacific Time "BOOKMARK SEMINAR": Press Release FOUR OUTSTANDING SPEAKERS are brought together to make this an all-day must-do for writers. Everything you've always wanted to know about: MARKETING - PUBLISHING - BOOKSTORES - WRITING PROGRAMS At PALM DESERT LIBRARY 10:00 AM TO 4:00 PM OCTOBER 1, 2005 (Saturday) FEATURED SPEAKER · CHRIS HUNTLEY, Movie Magic Screenwriter & Dramatica Pro Vice president and Academy Technical Achievement Award winning co-creator/developer of Write Brothers, Inc. and the Movie Magic series of software products including Movie Magic Screenwriter. Huntley also co-developed the Dramatica theory of story over a 14-year period, ultimately creating Dramatica Pro, the software that helps creative writers employ the Dramatica story theory most effectively. His mastery and wisdom of all things relating to story have made him a widely-recognized leader in the world of story development. OTHER SPEAKERS · Dave Speakman, BOOK PUBLISHER · Chris Johnson, PEPPERTREE BOOK STORE · Marie Robertson, MARKETING MANAGER For additional details contact Pres. Bill Clark PALM SPRINGS WRITERS GUILD P.O. Box 947 Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 760-861-9157 For September Release ^ posted by Webmaster @ 9/08/2005 04:00:00 PM Pacific Time Powered by Blogger. |
